BRE | Official SIte

These compelling songs are revealed in a series of releases. In her lead single, “Rather Be Alone,” she addresses the dilemmas of modern dating with these words: “Cause if you don’t expect a call/Then it don’t hurt at all/ If I leave the ledge then there’s nowhere else that I can fall/I’d rather be alone.”

Although she wrote the song about the mystifying males of Los Angeles, she says the message of meeting expectations is universal. “I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not going to change who I am, and play someone else’s game. Who do you want me to be? I don’t care. I’m going to enjoy my own company, and be happy being single and independent. If the right person comes along that’s fine, but being in a relationship will not change the quality of my life.” 

In her metamorphosis as an artist, BRE realized the power of self-determination. After winning an acting competition, 13-year old Bre Podgorski moved with her family from West Dundee, IL to Los Angeles. Gravitating to music, she was being groomed as a country artist, with producers pulling the proverbial strings. “The reason artists exist is to do something that is true to our own experience, because that’s what is going to connect,” she says. “ A manufactured message that has been told over and over again has no impact, which is why I struggled working with people who were trying to mold me into something that I wasn’t.”

By 20, she felt burned out from Hollywood expectations. “There was a lot of pressure on me as a young kid. I equated my value with my lack of success,” she recalls. Relocating to Austin, TX to work for a tech start-up, she was unfulfilled by the 9-5 existence. So to find herself, she volunteered for an environmental group, moved to New Zealand, and lived in a hostel. “I was exposed to people who loved life, who were happy and not so obsessed with succeeding. It changed the way I saw the potential for my future. I started playing piano and getting residences in bars. I realized the dream was not over. This is so who I am, and I couldn’t deny that part of myself. So I packed up my stuff and came back to LA.”

Writing and recording self-penned songs of significance, BRE evolved across a series of EP’s, albums, singles, a band project, Spotify covers with impressive statistics, and a self-produced album. Making a living in clubs as a dueling piano bar player, she grew into a compelling live performer who ignites an audience. “You will pay attention to me. You will listen, and I will have you singing,” she promises. Onstage, fronting her accomplished four-piece band is the preferred domain for the bravura performer whose bond with her listeners is genuine.

Co-producing her music along with German-based collaborator Pascal Pahl, BRE is incorporating a studio sound -- highlighted with soulful synths and driven by propulsive beats  -- that matches the brightness of her buoyant optimism. As BRE explains, her ambitions now hold a deeper purpose. “I want to help people in any way that I can, whether that be with the lyrics, or the principles that I stand for. I want them to know that I am real. And hopefully -- if I can inspire even one person who feels lost – to believe that it is never too late to follow your dreams.”